As provost of WPI, a position he’s held since 2015, Bruce Bursten is responsible for the university’s academic and research programs. He oversees the quality of teaching, scholarship, and research, working with the university’s deans and professional staff to assure the continued excellence of WPI’s programs.

In addition to his duties as provost and senior vice president, he teaches chemistry and biochemistry at WPI. He is the author or co-author of more than 160 research papers, and has presented over 200 research seminars at universities, labs, and companies. Over the course of his career, he has held several leadership positions and earned many international honors, including the recent symposium, “Frontiers in Heavy Element Electronic Structure, a Tribute to Bruce Bursten,” hosted by the American Chemical Society. He was a distinguished professor of chemistry as well as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Bursten received his BS in chemistry with honors from the University of Chicago in 1974, and his PhD in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978.